20 Best Movies Moments Of 2017
18. Split – The Unbreakable Reveal
Starring James McAvoy as Kevin – a young man suffering from
dissociative identity disorder with many multiple personalities who abducts
three teenage girls – psychological horror Split heralded a return to form for
director M. Night Shyamalan after the likes of The Happening and The Last
Airbender.
Now, we’re used to the old M. Night Shyamalan third act plot twist by now but despite a few hints scattered throughout the film we still didn’t suspect the twist ending he pulled in Split. After Kevin’s most terrifying and powerful personality The Beast takes over he goes on a murderous rampage and disappears before the police can apprehend him.
The movie could’ve effectively ended there but in its very last scene we see a diner in which a TV is playing a news report about the incident and mentions the press have nicknamed Kevin ‘the Horde’ in reference to his multiple personalities. A woman recalls a similar situation years previously involving a wheelchair-bound criminal but fails to remember his name until a familiar faced patron informs her it was Mr. Glass.
It’s only David Dunne (Bruce Willis) from Shyamalan’s 2000 fantasy thriller Unbreakable – a neat twist we didn’t see coming that establishes a link between Unbreakable and Split and acts as a perfect lead in to Shyamalan’s forthcoming crossover film Glass.
Well played, Shyamalan, well played.